Chapter 588

Uesugi Muneyuki was very calm.

Because he could not possibly be wrong — Minami Ojou-sama's dead soul had already told him everything she knew, including the evidence the Kimura family had been desperately searching for, which was somewhere in this villa!

This actually wasn't a very complicated case; the truly difficult part of this case lay in the fact that it involved complex financial property rights, illegal tenants, adverse possession, and the issue of a charcoal-burning suicide, as well as the Kimura family's carefully designed "discovery of the corpse."

To string these matters together completely required some time and logic; even Uesugi Muneyuki himself had to think for a while before he sorted out the whole affair.

"Since you want evidence, then I'll give it to you right now." His voice was not loud, yet it pierced everyone's eardrums like an ice pick.

"First, regarding property rights." He slowly raised his hand, pointing at the villa and the property: "You say you neglected management," but I just inquired with the property management here, and the property company's records show that in the first two years after Nakajima Sensei passed away, the regular maintenance and courtyard trimming of this villa never once ceased. It was only at the start of the third year that it suddenly stopped. This happens to coincide with the initial behavior of 'management with the consciousness of an owner' required by the statute of limitations for 'adverse possession.' This is not neglect of management; it is a deliberate fabrication of an 'ownerless' illusion after completing the statutory appearance of 'open, continuous possession.'"

"So I said, you people have indeed mastered the whole adverse possession game, just waiting to confirm title at the Legal Affairs Bureau."

Kimura Aki opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but for a moment couldn't find the words.

"Second, regarding the transaction documents." Uesugi's gaze finally turned to her, carrying a trace of pity: "I've already asked Investigation Division 2, and they've already pulled up Nakajima Sensei's account records. Before his death, there wasn't a single transfer from your father, Kimura-san, or related companies matching the value of this villa."

"Your so-called 'legal transaction' — the documents may be 'legal,' but the fund flow is forged."

"Of course, you can say these were cash transactions; although Karuizawa villas run into the hundreds of millions, if you insist on cash it's not impossible — so why didn't you report it to the police? Don't you like it?"

"Or is it the lack of third-party proof and concrete transaction records?"

Kimura Aki's face began to turn pale.

"Last, and the most important point — you don't 'know' Minami Yamashita?" Uesugi Muneyuki smiled and nodded; he gestured to Eirina: "Master, go in the front door, turn left, the third room counting from outside to inside, second row of the cabinet inside, there's a book 'The Dancing Girl of Izu'; look what's tucked inside it."

"Okay!" Eirina immediately unleashed a Green Rush Burst into Super Blazing Dance, striding quickly into the villa; police immediately followed alongside her.

Before long, Eirina came out holding an evidence bag, inside which was a yellowed photograph.

Uesugi Muneyuki displayed the photograph on the spot for everyone: "This was found by me in the interlayer of a rare first-edition book in the villa study; I noticed the dust traces on it were abnormal. Clearly, the photo shows a young Nakajima Sensei, and a baby girl he holds in his arms. On the back is a date and a line written in his own hand: 'To lovely Minami, may you be as bright as the summers of Karuizawa.'"

"

He then turned the photograph toward Kimura Aki: "Miss Kimura, your father, as Nakajima's best friend and business partner, would not know of the existence of this illegitimate child of his? When she came to the door holding similar evidence, threatening to expose your crime of property usurpation, can you still say you don't 'know' her?"

Uesugi Muneyuki pressed step by step, his tone still calm yet carrying the weight of a thousand jun: "The logic chain of the whole story is like this:"

"1. Your family used official position and information asymmetry to forge documents after Nakajima's death and usurp his villa."

"2. You deeply understood the legal loophole of 'adverse possession' and carefully planned, only waiting for the limitation period to expire."

"3. Just on the eve of success, the true heir, Nakajima Minami — that is, this Miss Minami Yamashita — appeared. She held evidence sufficient to ruin your reputation and make you lose everything."

"4. Legal proceedings were unfavorable to you (reporting to police would expose yourselves); violent expulsion was even more impossible (she would directly publicize the evidence)."

"5. Thus, you chose the only method that could 'safely' keep your property and reputation — let her fall silent forever, and disguise it as a tragedy of an intruder's 'accident' or 'suicide.'"

Uesugi Muneyuki finished speaking, and the scene fell into a deathly silence.

Such a complicated case, such intricate property relations, an illegitimate child, illegal tenants, adverse possession, and a murder disguised as suicide!

Uesugi figured it all out just like that?

"But, Doctor Uesugi, I still have one thing I don't understand — if Miss Minami Yamashita did it that way, she should have known she might be in danger; why didn't she stay vigilant?" Inspector Yamato still didn't understand; he frowned and said: "If it's as you say, why would Miss Minami Yamashita be 'made to commit suicide'? Didn't she resist at all?"

"Yes, I have doubts too." Minami Ojou-sama beside him also said: "Judging from the corpse, Miss Minami Yamashita doesn't look like she resisted."

"Your suspicions are very reasonable." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded; he continued looking at the now-silent Kimura Aki with his gaze, and said in a low voice: "I've also thought about this problem — what made her not resist, letting you complete this 'staged suicide'?"

"The reason should be only one — Miss Kimura, you yourself and Miss Minami should be childhood friends, or at least once spent time together during vacations, forming a certain friendship, right?"

"You exploited her trust in you, actively proposed talks, and came to negotiate on the pretext of 'discussing a solution both sides can accept,' bringing expensive wine and food. Your attitude was sincere, expressing willingness to pay her a sum of money in exchange for her leaving and handing over the evidence; because of the special relationship between you, she chose to believe you."

"Then in the wine —" Uesugi Muneyuki pointed at the wine: "This is why the deceased had extensive severe incontinence — because she ingested sleeping pills in the wine, fell into a deep sleep, and then you arranged the scene, even lighting double the shichirin charcoal braziers, afraid she wouldn't die —"

"Enough! Don't say any more!" Kimura Aki was clearly in great pain; she shrieked sharply, for the last time and most frantically, cutting off Uesugi Muneyuki's words: "I've heard enough of your made-up story! You say I knew Minami as a child — which eye of yours saw that? Produce the evidence!"

"Also, I don't know what you're talking about — this villa — I know nothing; this was transferred to me by my father, I know nothing about it. You say the contract has problems, go find my father, what's it got to do with me? I only know this woman illegally invaded my home! And then shamelessly committed suicide here! It's that simple!"

"You said so much, but it's just dragging in the previous generation's past; what does that have to do with me? Why should I inherit the previous generation's affairs? The villa's property rights are mine, the owner is me; you say there's a problem, fine, you can present evidence, you can sue in court, you can have the Legal Affairs Bureau review it — but that has nothing to do with whether I'm a murderer!"

"If I'm a murderer, please produce evidence immediately! Otherwise I'll file a complaint! I'll complain right now!" Finished speaking, Kimura Aki took out her own Huawei Galay Phone from her bag, clutching it tight, signaling: I'm going to complain right now!

Uesugi Muneyuki sighed upon hearing this.

Speaking again, his voice was as precise and cold as a scalpel: "Miss Kimura, you may think you designed a perfect crime. You got her drunk, set up the charcoal brazier, sealed the doors and windows, created the illusion that she committed suicide by burning charcoal after getting drunk. But you made a fatal mistake — a mistake born of your ignorance of 'time' and human physiology — which proves the ironclad evidence that you were inside this sealed space during her dying stage."

He held up an evidence bag, inside which were a few tiny, dust-like black granules.

"What is this?" Watanabe Minami asked at the perfect moment, voicing everyone's doubt.

"These are charcoal ash granules extracted from deep within the nasal cavity and tracheal mucosa of the deceased, Minami Yamashita." Uesugi Muneyuki explained, then turned to Kimura Aki, his gaze blazing: "But at the same time, on your person, in the fiber gaps of your shirt cuffs, charcoal ash granules of completely identical composition and morphology will also be found."

Kimura's face changed drastically; she subconsciously tried to hide her hands.

"What can this prove!" Kimura Aki attempted a final struggle: "I just came over to check; getting a bit of dust on me is normal!"

"No, this is not normal." Uesugi Muneyuki cut her off, his tone brooking no question.

"When the corpse was discovered, all the charcoal fires in the braziers had long been extinguished, the room had been ventilated, and there was no floating charcoal ash in the air. If it were a simple inspection, it would be absolutely impossible for such minute granules to be deeply embedded in the cuff fibers."

"More importantly — the position of the granules."

Uesugi Muneyuki stepped forward, exuding overwhelming pressure.

"The charcoal ash the deceased inhaled was inhaled from the air during her breathing process and deposited in her respiratory tract. This is the only possible way in a 'suicide' or 'accident' scenario."

"But the charcoal ash on you — its embedding method and adherents (trace sweat and skin oils) — as long as it's sent for microscopic examination, it will be discovered that these are minute charcoal particles, not yet fully combusted, carried by the rising hot air current when you leaned over at close range and swung your arms (for example, moving the charcoal braziers or checking if she was dead) while the charcoal fire was burning, 'sprayed' and 'inlaid' into the fibers with extremely high kinetic energy. This is a dynamic, active contact, absolutely not a static, passive contamination."

He paused, delivering the final, fatal blow: "Miss Kimura, do you dare let us test it?"

"We've already notified the hotel you're staying at; they said the clothes you sent for washing — haven't been picked up for cleaning yet, and even if they were cleaned — as long as they weren't burned, we can still detect it."

"Or, can you explain?"

"In your account claiming you completely didn't know the situation and never came to your own villa — why would your cuffs retain 'high-velocity spray-embedded charcoal ash' that only forms in the specific environment of violently burning charcoal fire and active thermal convection in a sealed space?"

"The only explanation is —

"

"While the charcoal fire was still burning, carbon monoxide filling this room, and Minami Yamashita was still taking her last struggling breaths during the murder in progress — you were right here! Because you had to confirm she was already dead!"

The scene was dead silent.

Kimura Aki stood frozen in place; she staggered back a step, unable to utter any further rebuttal, left only with endless shock and bewilderment.

Is This… Even Possible?

At this time, Ishihara Mikoto also said: "Burning charcoal produces smoke and particles; the perpetrator may inhale or leave traces when setting up the scene. In similar suicide cases, charcoal ash residue is an excellent choice, as it is easily overlooked yet detectable through scientific methods."

"Charcoal ash particles remaining on the perpetrator's clothing or skin, especially in sweat forming an alkaline solution, align with forensic medical principles. Moreover, SEM-EDS analysis can clearly identify the composition, matching it with the scene's charcoal ash. Such evidence directly indicates the perpetrator's activity in an enclosed space, refuting their claim of not having entered the scene."

"Miss Kimura, what else do you have to say?"

Miss Kimura collapsed completely, her psychological defense shattered by this microscopic dust from forensic medicine that she could neither comprehend nor refute.

Indeed, indeed, merely because of————this tiny trace?

Uesugi Muneyuki, is he a monster-level detective?

And upon seeing this scene, everyone around understood.

One! Volume!

The scene was settled with one blow! Finding the culprit, finding evidence, reconstructing the crime process, seeking motive—all done in one go!

This, is Uesugi!

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